Family Activities

  • Roper Mountain Science Center – Animals and Activities

    Wow!  Look at all those tiny legs on this one!

    Our girls love any trips we take to Roper Mountain Science Center!  There is so much to see, learn, and explore.  Whenever possible we try to go to their second Saturday events because they are a big hit with our kids.  The second Saturday events have a theme and the kids can do anything from holding animals, crafts, participate in events, and much more.  They have everything from animals, ocean life, space activities, farming, cultural events, and more!  I have even learned a few new facts about history, animals, and space too.  🙂

    Karlie holding a snake

    Jake holding the snake.  I am not a big fan of snakes so I was okay with not holding this snake, although I did touch it briefly…very briefly!

    Look at this cool guy!

    Yes, that is a huge spider that she is holding in both her hands!  A tarantula actually!

    Brina holding a box turtle

    Karlie wanted to hold the box turtle too

    Super soft……Chinchilla!

    Is it a baby pig, baby squirrel, or baby chipmunk Brina is holding????  None of those,  it is actually baby mouse (the mouse is only 1 day old)!

  • Creative Kids: Sidewalk Chalk Paint

    With the warm weather just around the corner (it was in the 70’s here this past weekend).  I want to share one of our family’s favorite outside crafts with you.  Sidewalk Chalk Paint is super easy to make and can entertain the kids for hours.  The sidewalk chalk paint can take the place of traditional chalk and is inexpensive to make at home.  You can make whatever colors you want; we’ve done all the colors of the rainbow, including Charleston Green (which was requested by the girls).

    We’ve had kids from 1 years old and up play with this neat paint and love it!

    Sidewalk Chalk Paint

    • 1/2 cup cold Water
    • 1/2 cup Cornstarch
    • Food Coloring
    • Jumbo Muffin Tin
    • Variety of Old Paint Brushes

    Stir the cold water and cornstarch together until you have a smooth consistency.  Mix in 3 to 6 drops of food coloring.  Repeat the process until you have filled your muffin tin with a rainbow of colors.   If you want to make less you can do 1/4 cup cold water and 1/4 cup cornstarch.  You can make your sidewalk chalk paint darker by adding a few more drops of food coloring.

    My niece Noelle and I were having fun doing her name together!

    This works on any sidewalk or driveway, although smooth surfaces may be a little better.  Our driveway is rough but the kids always have a blast doing this activity.  When Jake’s sister and family was here a few months ago we did this activity with the kids.

    Brina painted her name on the sidewalk

    The sidewalk chalk paint will wash off your sidewalk or driveway and is safe for your grass and plants.  If you have leftovers you can put them into empty yogurt containers and store them until the next time the kids are ready for sidewalk chalk paint.  You may have to add a few drops of water if the paint has become a little dry but it should revive well after adding a little more water.

  • Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

    I just finished reading Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder to the girls.  I have an older version of the book (from when I was a kid), but the story is exactly the same.  They have a picture every few pages that the girls enjoyed looking at as we read together.    Brina and Karlie really enjoy these books and are always begging me to read…..just one more chapter. 🙂

    Little House on the Prairie is the second book in the Laura Ingalls Wilder series.  We read Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder first.  In this book the little girl, Laura, that we met in the first book traveled with her family out Midwest to the Kansas area.  Her Pa found a place out in the wide open space of the prairie where they built their new home, barn, started farming, trapping, and explored the area.  In this book Laura met Indians for the first time, saw a papoose, and experienced many new adventures.

  • Travel & Vacation: Parks Near Charleston We Love! (part 2)

    Karlie is our water bug. She is having a blast!

    One of the girls favorite places to visit is Charleston.  We have enjoyed finding a lot of neat parks near Charleston.  Several of the parks we found while others were recommended to us by friends and people we met along the way.  It is always an adventure hanging out with the chickies at the parks.  They have a blast and love getting a chance to play, splash around, and explore!

    Playing in the water at the park

    A soaked Brina on the run and heading straight for me!

    Chatting while Brina holds back a fountain sprayer and Karlie relaxes for a few minutes on the fence

    Two little monkeys climbing on the tube slide at the park

    Brina loves spinning in these red cups! Makes me almost sick and dizzy just watching them!

  • Travel & Vacation: Parks Near Charleston We Love!

    Hanging out at Mount Pleasant. Notice the huge bridge above them, the girls always enjoy coming to Waterfront Park.

     

    Relaxing for a few minutes

    Silly Sisters

    If you are looking for a great spot to fish near Charleston you can go on the pier of Mt Pleasant next to Waterfront Park.  The girls always enjoy seeing pictures of the fish then walking down the pier checking out all the fish the people have caught that day.

    Swinging on the pier

  • Creative Kids: Invisible Writing

    The girls love to do crafts and all kinds of fun activities…..(so do I)! 🙂  As I was getting ready to leave for a few hours the other day I left a “secret” note on the girls bar stools.  They didn’t realize it was a note because it was invisible .  The night before the girls had asked if they could paint again soon so I decided that since the paints were going to be out anyway I might as well leave an invisible note for them to discover the next morning.

    These invisible notes were a hit and super easy to do.  Take a white piece of paper, write a message in white crayon, and have the kids paint over the letters to decode the message.  Once the girls figured out it wasn’t just a plain white piece of paper on their bar stools they quickly decoded the message.

    They decided it was pretty neat and the next spent hour writing invisible notes back and forth to each other.  I love it when I start a fun activity and they run with it.  Thankful that the girls get excited over the little stuff.

    These would work really well for younger kids too.  You could do a picture instead of a note as well.

  • Family Fun: Adventures With Our Cousins

    Cousins hanging out at the park together!

    We had an opportunity a few months ago to spend some time with Jake’s sister and her family.  The girls were in school during their stay with us but we still found plenty of time to have fun.  It was great having an opportunity to hang out with them and create new memories, especially since it will be quite awhile before we can get together again.

    Oh MY…..your lips look different today…..Silly girls with silly mouths!

    My cute little kitchen helper!

    Noah helping with the “science” experiment!  Loading up the ingredients into a Ziploc bag.

    It’s going to blow!!!!  We did an experiment with baking soda, water, and vinegar inside Ziploc bags.  When we sealed the bags they bubbled up and they popped!  The kids really enjoyed doing this one.

  • Intentional Living: Weekly Goals

    I am getting back in the swing of things now that schedule is returning to the somewhat normal.  One kid is in school and the other one is home recovering from surgery.   Last week my goals were pretty basic.  I did get a lot of items done and I am hoping to make some big headway this week (fingers-crossed).

    Last week’s goals

    • Bring in the 2013 New Year – Celebrating with Family and Friends
    • Spend some one-on-one time with my man
    • Spend Quality time with the girls
    • Daughter’s Surgery
    • Go over our goals for 2013 – started, but with a little one recovering from surgery and Jake having to work extra this weekend we were not able to get it completely done

    There were a few more noteworthy ones on the list that I didn’t write out that I was able to do as well:

    My goals for the upcoming week

    Family Goals

    1. Read Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder to the girls
    2. Lunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night before
    3. Daily School Activities & Homework Completed
    4. Attend After School Activities
    5. Plan one special Activity with the Family
    6. Take care of the little one recovering from surgery
    7. Write Thank You Notes
    8. Finish going over our 2013 goals

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise at least 5 days this week
    2. Drink 8 glasses of water each day
    3. Start with my new YouVersion plan(s)
    4. Finish reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp

    Home Management Goals

    1. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    2. Weekly Dinner Menu planned out for the week
    3. Finish Wrapping & Prepping for the Christmas Events
    4. Pay all upcoming bills

    Business Goals

    1. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    2. Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention
    3. Complete a current client work project

    Ministry Goals

    1. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
    2. Write and Send Out Community Group Email
    3. Email a meeting reminder to the Alms & Legs Ministry Team

    Financial Goals

    1. For my January Grocery Budget I am replacing my typical Groceries $40 for 4 with my Life Simplified: No Grocery Shopping in order to use up some extra items in my fridge, freezer, and pantry.
    2. Payoff the Van
    3. Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses

    I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us.  I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true.  When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals.  Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick).  Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.

    Why Share My Goals?

    • To keep me accountable
    • To share a piece of my life with you as I strive to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, Friend, Homemaker, Entrepreneur and the many other roles I have each week
    • To have my goals consistently written down so I can gauge progress more accurately
    • Create healthy habits in my life
    • To encourage you to share your goals with me as you continue to grown and learn

    How did you do this week on your goals?  Feel free to share or link to your list of weekly goals.

    The picture above is one that I created for my own purposes, however, The “SMART” acronym was originally coined 30 years ago by Peter Drucker in his classic work, Management by Results.

  • Blessing Lives Everyday with Special Surprises (B.L.E.S.S.): 25 Days of Christmas Blessings (Week 4)

    We had a blast playing the 5 Second Rule game by Patch with extended family today!

    We just finished our fourth and final short week of  25 Days of Christmas B.L.E.S.S. (Blessing Lives Everyday with Special Surprises).   It was a really busy week and I didn’t have as much time to take pictures (and a couple of the ones I took didn’t turn out).  It has been an awesome doing the daily activities and finding ways to be a blessing to those we meet.  Seriously, I feel like we walk away from an activity feeling more blessed then we did going into it because it is so much fun bringing cheer to the people around us.   What a joy it has been participating in intentional acts of kindness during the Holiday Season.

    In some cases we get to see who receives our B.L.E.S.S. gift and in other cases we will never know who is on the receiving end.  We pray that whoever receives or finds these gifts will experience joy during this Holiday Season.  Each night we take down the B.L.E.S.S. activity for the next day and read the verse and the activity then pray for those who have and will receive our little BLESS’ings.  Throughout the week we also try to find additional ways to brighten people’s days so sometimes we do multiply activities during the day.

    Our B.L.E.S.S. Activity Adventures:

    • Day 22 – went to the store to purchase a couple items for Christmas Dinner.  Spent some time talking with the cashier and person bagging our groceries, including asking them about their families and Christmas plans.   She thanked us for waiting to check out and for asking about her family.
    • Day 23 – went to church with the family and ran a few errands afterward.  We were able to run in and pick up a couple things we needed, but towards the end of our errands Jake got a phone call from work and had to head home to handle some work issues.  Every where we went we made a point to smile at everyone we met and ask them how they are doing.  A smile and kindness will go a long way during a busy day.
    • Day 24 – was able to spend some time with extended family today.  We ate a delicious dinner, played, and had the kids exchange gifts.  Thankful for our family and the opportunity to spend time together.  Sometimes the best gift or blessing you can give to others is the gift of time. 

    Shortbread cookies ready to go into the oven!

    • Day 25 – Enjoyed some time with my family.  I actually didn’t go out at all on Christmas Day so today I decided to make a special treat for my sweet, hardworking, kind, loving husband. I am thankful for him and all he does for our family.  He is my best friend and I always love my time with him.   I made him one of his favorite Christmas cookies – shortbread (with sprinkles on top)!  🙂

    It has been a lot of fun working on ways we can be a blessing to others.  This verse talked about “humility” which can be difficult at times because sometimes we want people to notice us.  We talked about why it is important to demonstrate humility.  One of the ways we decide to practice humility was by leaving gifts anonymously if we don’t know who was on the receiving end of the B.L.E.S.S. it is a lot easier to not be proud.  We all agree that leaving “surprise” gifts are one of our favorite activities because we completely leave-it-up-to-God to choose the person to get the blessing.

    It is fun be to be a blessing to others not because we anticipate any rewards or benefits from it, but because we were given the greatest gift of all.  God’s love, grace, and mercy.  He wants us to give cheerfully from the heart.

    I am super excited to see how great this B.L.E.S.S. activity is going already.  It has been a true joy sharing with others (many of whom we’ll never meet).  It has been a great experience and I look forward to seeing what will happen with our fun adventures this week.

    The main purpose of this activity is to teach our family the joy of giving and sharing to those around us.  I plan to do another update on our fun B.L.E.S.S. adventures next week.  Sometimes it’s the little stuff that can make the most positive impact.  I would love to hear how you are spreading the Christmas cheer this Holiday Season.

    To learn more about our 25 Days of Christmas B.L.E.S.S. activity and what we have done far check out the links below:

    Below are the printable versions of the  25 Days of Christmas B.L.E.S.S. activities, verses, and sheets to handout so here they are for your family to enjoy as well:

  • Cousins Night Out!

    We ended our fun adventures in town that evening with a special treat! Ice cream cones!!!! This is the only picture of the 5 of them, everyone was having so much fun playing I didn’t want to make them stop to pose for a picture! 🙂

    Paul and Mirm were able to get away one night to meet friends and spend some quiet time together so we kept the kids.  Since Jake was working when Paul & Mirm left I took the crew to Par Tee Time which has bounce houses, batting cages, and miniature golf for the kids.  After Par Tee Time we picked up some pizza, had a picnic in the park and played.  We ended our night out with the cousins at Bruster’s for ice cream cones than headed home to get everyone showered and ready for bed.

    Whose up for a game of miniature golf?

    Sweet girl having a blast on the bouncy castle!

    The three older chickies having a blast giggling and playing

    Come on NOAH!  We know you can dunk that ball!

    Even my sweet little niece joined the big kids in a game of miniature golf!

    Concentrating hard on getting the ball into the hole!

    Practicing his swing in the batting cage

    Next one up to bat

    Karlie taking a whack at it

    Got those frogs…..Brina having a blast playing with her little cousin!

    Getting some extra air on that jump!

    Look out here she comes!

    Snapped a quick picture of Brina as she zoomed to the bottom of the slide!

    Karlie Cool Cat having a blast

    Did you just see me dunk that ball!

    Goofy girl, she makes me laugh!

    Eating pizza at the park

     

    Playing at the park

    I had a blast with the kids.  They did really well bouncing around and playing together.  Thankful for some extra time with my nieces and nephew.  The girls always enjoy their time with their cousins. A lot of great memories of their time with us!